Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and metabolite supplementation on the gut-brain-gonad axis of Trachemys scripta elegans

Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and metabolite supplementation on the gut-brain-gonad axis of Trachemys scripta elegans | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and metabolite supplementation on the gut-brain-gonad axis of Trachemys scripta elegans Qiongyu Zhang, Ijaz Khan, Enqi Lei, Hanru Chen, Xue Tang, Li Ding, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111041/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Previous studies have shown that higher salinity affects the spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) of T. s. elegans through the gut-brain-gonad axis, and gut GABA content of T. s. elegans increased and showed a significant correlation with SSC differentiation. Results: To explore the effect of intestinal flora on SSC, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments were carried out. The intestinal contents of the 10‰ group (S10) under salt stress for six months were prepared into bacterial suspensions. The normal saline group (NS), the antibiotic + normal saline group (ANS), and the antibiotic + FMT group were set up and fed with fresh water for two months. The results showed that the gut microbiota composition, the expressions of reproductive related genes in brain and self-renewal and differentiation genes and testicular steroid synthesis genes in testicle of the FMT group all decreased compared to the ANS group, which was similar to the S10 group, indicating that intestinal microbiota plays a vital role in SSC function. To furthur explore the effect of gut metabolites on the function of SSC, control group (CK) and a 100 mg/kg GABA supplementation group were established and fed with fresh water for two months. The results showed that the gut microbiota changed, the expression of reproductive related genes in brain and testicle SSC differentiation decreased in the GABA group compared to the CK group, which was similar to the S10 group. Conclusions: This study clarifies the molecular mechanism by which a high-salinity environment inhibits the self-renewal and differentiation of SSC through the gut-brain-gonad axis by reshaping the intestinal flora and metabolites. The results provide a new perspective for analyzing invasive species' environmental adaptation strategies and propose a new targeted prevention and control path for the invasion of T. s. elegans . GABA Supplementation Gut-Brain-Gonad Axis Spermatogonial Stem Cells Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryTable1.docx SupplementaryTable2.docx SupplementaryFigure1.docx SupplementaryFigure2.docx SupplementaryFigure3.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7111041","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":511991832,"identity":"5209c7f8-a812-45fa-bd29-7828b5cd9dae","order_by":0,"name":"Qiongyu Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hainan Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiongyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":511991833,"identity":"1e213486-1654-432d-9992-4e7999cb0892","order_by":1,"name":"Ijaz Khan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hainan 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elegans","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"GABA Supplementation, Gut-Brain-Gonad Axis, Spermatogonial Stem Cells, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111041/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111041/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBackground: Previous studies have shown that higher salinity affects the spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) of \u003cem\u003eT. s. elegans\u003c/em\u003e through the gut-brain-gonad axis, and gut GABA content of \u003cem\u003eT. s. elegans\u003c/em\u003e increased and showed a significant correlation with SSC differentiation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults: To explore the effect of intestinal flora on SSC, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiments were carried out. The intestinal contents of the 10‰ group (S10) under salt stress for six months were prepared into bacterial suspensions. The normal saline group (NS), the antibiotic + normal saline group (ANS), and the antibiotic + FMT group were set up and fed with fresh water for two months. The results showed that the gut microbiota composition, the expressions of reproductive related genes in brain and self-renewal and differentiation genes and testicular steroid synthesis genes in testicle of the FMT group all decreased compared to the ANS group, which was similar to the S10 group, indicating that intestinal microbiota plays a vital role in SSC function. To furthur explore the effect of gut metabolites on the function of SSC, control group (CK) and a 100 mg/kg GABA supplementation group were established and fed with fresh water for two months. The results showed that the gut microbiota changed, the expression of reproductive related genes in brain and testicle SSC differentiation decreased in the GABA group compared to the CK group, which was similar to the S10 group.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusions: This study clarifies the molecular mechanism by which a high-salinity environment inhibits the self-renewal and differentiation of SSC through the gut-brain-gonad axis by reshaping the intestinal flora and metabolites. The results provide a new perspective for analyzing invasive species' environmental adaptation strategies and propose a new targeted prevention and control path for the invasion of \u003cem\u003eT. s. elegans\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and metabolite supplementation on the gut-brain-gonad axis of Trachemys scripta elegans","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-16 17:04:55","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7111041/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9cfdc8b6-2f56-4f7f-a9cd-d2c59122267c","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 16th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-01T15:08:28+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-16 17:04:55","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7111041","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7111041","identity":"rs-7111041","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}